


Wake Up, Get Up, Get Baking

by mintymentha



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Baking, Cooking, F/F, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-18
Updated: 2020-02-18
Packaged: 2021-02-28 05:47:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22788958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mintymentha/pseuds/mintymentha
Summary: Ann and Makoto bake sweets for Ryuji during a sleepover. Fluffy romance happens!
Relationships: Niijima Makoto/Takamaki Ann
Comments: 1
Kudos: 57





	Wake Up, Get Up, Get Baking

"Are you sure we won't get in trouble for this?"

Ann was lightly hopping from socked foot to socked foot as if the floor beneath would swallow her up in a moment's notice.

"Relax, Ann. My sister won't be back for another two or three days at best. We have plenty of time to get this done and have it all cleaned up before she gets back."

Makoto's no-nonsense attitude contrasted with her pajama pants and the pink apron she had tied around her waist. It made sense, though - if there was a task to be done, she would put all her effort into it. It was part of what Ann liked so much about her. Although, the pink apron didn't hurt either. Ann was wearing a similar one, hers a dark red. She had tied her hair into a long ponytail to keep it out of her way while she worked.

Makoto clapped her hands.

"Right! Let's begin, shall we?"

Makoto opened various cabinets, gathering the necessary materials to begin the pair's cooking expedition. Her apartment was as sparse as Ann had assumed, given what she had heard about Sae. The place consisted mostly of the essentials, without much in the way of sentimentality. Every picture framed on the wall was from the time before Makoto's father had passed away. It felt like the house had passed with him. The whole place was lit in an overcast yellow, like the light bulbs were just barely struggling to stay turned on. Perhaps they feared what Sae would do to them if they ran out of electricity.

Makoto dropped the last necessary box of flour onto the table, snapping Ann back to reality.

"That's everything?" she asked as Makoto wiped her hands. "It seems like...a lot."

Makoto grabbed a baking sheet. She didn't even need to look in its direction to know where it was.

"Well, Ryuji is a growing sixteen-year-old boy," she said. "Plus he's an athlete. It'll take more than a few cookies to satiate him."

Ann nodded. "True. He can share with his mom too!"

"Yes," Makoto said, smiling. "It'll be nice to do something for him. He's been through quite a lot."

Ann nodded. Honestly, "quite a lot" was a bit of an understatement on Makoto's part. From the ordeal with Kamoshida to his near-death experience only a few weeks ago, the boy had been put through the proverbial ringer. Plus, Ann's first reaction was to slap him when she found out he was alright, which she still kind of felt bad about. In a way, the pile of sweets they'd be making for him doubled as an apology of sorts.

The two girls began their baking in earnest. They would start with something simple: batches of cookies. With a deft hand, Ann split the chocolate chip dough apart, cutting it into small squares before spreading them evenly on the tray. Makoto eyed her work as she performed her own.

"Wow Ann, I never took you for such an accomplished pastry chef," she said with a light giggle. Ann blushed, focusing her gaze on the plate so that Makoto wouldn't be able to see her red cheeks.

"Yeah, well, you know...with a sweet tooth like mine, you pick up a few things," she replied.

"True. But at the same time, I can tell that anything you're interested in, you take quite seriously. It's a good trait, in my opinion."

If she could turn any more red, Ann would have looked like a tomato. She wasn't used to such pointed compliments, especially coming from someone as cute as Makoto.

"T-thanks," she stuttered, grasping for a change in subject. "Oh hey, we should get these in the oven!"

The oven mitt Makoto handed over to Ann matched the pink of her apron. A cat chasing a ball of yarn was stitched on the top. It was criminally adorable.

“What’s next?” Ann asked as she slotted the cookies away and turned the oven’s heat on. “If we keep this pace up, we’ll be done before the night goes on too long.”

“Hmm…” Makoto put a finger on her chin. “Let’s do cupcakes next! I have the mix ready, we just have to get them into the cupcake pans.”

Ann smiled. “Efficient as always,” she said. The girls stood side by side as they poured the mix into two whole pans.

“Ryuji’s not going to know what to do with all of this,” Ann said, laughing. Makoto wiped at her apron before setting the pans aside. Now that they had begun their task the room felt brighter with energy, and the smell of freshly baked desserts filled the room, raising their spirits.

“We can decorate these once they’re out of the oven,” Makoto said.

“Sounds good! I brought the frostings. Let’s take a break while we wait for them to finish.”

Makoto took a seat on the couch. The way she perched at its edge, it looked like she were ready to stand up to answer a question in class. This was in contrast to Ann, who dive-bombed onto the cushions, bouncing twice before making her landing.

“Phew!” she said, wiping her brow with a pajamaed arm. “This is more work than it looks. And we still have the grand finale to work on!”

“Yes, but…” Makoto played with the sides of her apron, staring at her knees as she did so. Ann leaned over to look at the girl.

“But what?” she asked. Makoto shook her head with such vigor it looked as if it would pop off.

“Nothing, never mind,” she said. Ann pouted.

“What!? You can’t just say that and drop it,” the girl protested. “What’s wrong?”

Makoto gripped tighter at her apron. “Alright. To be honest, this is the most fun I’ve had here at home in…well, forever.”

Ann’s pout changed into a frown. Makoto continued.

“When my father passed, as you know, everything sort of changed for us…Sae was so focused on taking care of the two of us, and I appreciate her for that, but…this place stopped feeling like a home. It was just a square room for me to eat, and sleep, and study in. I didn’t feel anything when I came back from school. Well, except stressed, I suppose. I stopped having people over because there was this void between my sister and I that sucked out any kind of fun we could have had.”

“Makoto…” Ann said with a whisper.

“I’m sure you felt it when you first walked in too, Ann. But getting to be here with you…it feels like I can have fun again. Like things are going to be alright.” 

Ann got up from the couch so that she could sit closer to Makoto. She grabbed the girl’s hand, looking into her eyes.

“I know we’ve been through a lot,” Ann said. “Our time as the Phantom Thieves, all of the stuff we’ve been dealing with at school…but I just want you to know that I’m always going to be here for you. You know that, right?”

“I know…” Makoto replied. The girls stayed like that, hands clasped. Before either of the two could react, the oven let out a ding. Ann leaped from the couch, standing on the edge of her toes. Even given the intensity of the moment, Makoto was reminded of the time Ryuji sprayed Morgana with water, causing her to let out a light chuckle.

“Lookatthatthecupcakesarereadyletsgo!” Ann’s words came out like a fire-hose as she rushed back into the kitchen, nearly forgetting to put a mitt on as she grabbed the trays out of the oven and slammed the door closed. Makoto trailed behind, balancing a small tub of frosting in each hand.

“Pass the pipings over there?”

The pair separated the cupcakes in such a way that half would have red frosting, while the other would have black. Because she had never done it before, Makoto showed Ann how to circle the cupcakes with the frosting bag in such a way that it would spiral into the center, making it look extra fancy.

As the girls worked on the frosting, Makoto spoke.

“Sorry about getting so deep back there,” she said, giving an uncharacteristically sheepish smile. “I didn’t mean to bring the mood down.”

Ann licked at her finger, moving to the next cupcake. “You didn’t. And it’s 1:00AM. This is usually the part of the sleepover where we get super open with each other.”

“I suppose that’s true.”

“Right!” Ann said, shooting a finger out. “And I already said that I’m always here for you. So if you need to get anything off your chest, just go for it!”

Makoto beamed at the girl.

“Thank you, Ann.”

Ann’s heart took a swan-dive off a cliff into her stomach. Makoto noted the girl’s tray.

“Oh, you’re all done! Let me take a look.”

Makoto leaned down to examine the tray of cupcakes. Ann felt like she was being judged at a cooking show. She watched as Makoto went from one cupcake to the next, brow furrowed as her perfectionist tendencies kicked in. It was cute. She was cute! Everything about her was cute. Even her nose was cute.

Without thinking, Ann used her pipe to pour frosting on her finger. One quick swipe and she had rubbed frosting directly onto Makoto’s nose. The girl yelped, jumping back in shock.

“Ann!” she yelled in disbelief. Ann snickered.

“I’m sorry, you were just so focused, I couldn’t help it!” she said.

Makoto grabbed her frosting pipe and brandished it at the girl, a grim smile set on her face.

“My honor as an upperclassman can’t let this go unpunished!” she said, taking a step towards Ann. Subsequently, Ann took a step back.

“Wait, wait, we can work this out!” she said. But it was too late. Makoto leapt at the girl, and an all-out frosting war began. Shots were fired back and forth, and the kitchen was soon covered in black and red artificial sweeteners. At first glance, it would have looked like a murder scene.

Makoto had Ann’s back to the wall, frosting pipe aimed at her face.

“Any last words?” she asked as the blond-haired girl gulped.

“Uh…well, I’ve always wanted to ride Johanna,” she confessed.

“Interesting…too bad you won’t live to see the chance!” Makoto said. With methodical precision, she pushed the pipe into Ann’s face, smearing her with a layer of red frosting. It was a direct hit.

The girls collapsed into a pile on the floor, in too much of a laughing fit to even speak. Makoto recovered first, pulling herself back up to her feet.

“We…have to clean this up…” Makoto said, between sporadic giggles. Ann nodded, grabbing a pile of kitchen paper.

After a thorough rubdown, the kitchen was back to normal. Or at least, it almost was.

“Oh, Ann. Your face,” Makoto said, pointing. Ann realized that she was still covered in a mess of frosting.

“Hang on, let me help,” Makoto said. She grabbed a sheet of kitchen paper and dabbed at Ann’s face. She was too fast for Ann to reject her help, and now she was getting gently touched by her crush. Suddenly Ann was conscious of every part of her body. Was she breathing too hard? Did her arms look stupid at her sides like that? Maybe she should cross them. Wait, were her lips dry? What about —

“Ann,” Makoto said, her voice barely softer than the hold she had on Ann’s frosted cheek. Ann realized Makoto was significantly closer to her than she realized. Her eyes were such an amazing color…

Makoto gently brought her face to Ann, letting their lips meet. The storm of thoughts that Ann tried to sort through disappeared. Everything disappeared, actually, but for her and Makoto. It felt like the floor she had been standing on was pulled out from under her, causing her to tumble for what felt like an eternity.

When she finally came back to earth, Makoto had taken a step back. Ann stared at the girl blankly.

“Ann? You okay?”

“We should…start on the cake…” Ann said, still in the process of rebooting.

“Yes, we should.” Makoto turned on her heel and began to prep the materials for the cake next.

Ann bunched the cupcakes next to the pile of cookies at the far end of the kitchen. The cake would be their largest project, and the night wasn’t getting any younger. There was a long silence as Makoto got started on the base of the cake. Finally, she chose to break it, speaking without looking at the girl working to her left.

“Hey Ann…was that—”

“It was great,” Ann interrupted. Makoto’s knife hovered in the air as she turned to look at her.

“Really?”

“Yeah, I’m just — well I’m really bad at this whole thing. I just need some time to work it out in my head.”

Makoto sighed.

“That’s a relief. I was worried for a moment. Of course, take your time.”

Luckily for both of them, the work on the cake was so involved that they both soon forgot the awkwardness of their situation. Makoto delighted in the challenge, flipping through her phone to double-check the steps of the baking process, and directing Ann with different tips that would help bring the cake's taste closer to perfection. Soon they were back to laughing and chatting as they were before as they waited for the cake to finish its trip in the oven. 

"...So Futaba just says 'are you free? Don't answer that, you're always free," Ann said, finishing her story. "Just like that! Isn't that hilarious?"

"It is. Seriously, it feels like whenever you call him, he always has time to see you."

Ann nodded, leaning back on the couch. "Yeah, but I guess that's part of why everyone likes him so much. He's super reliable. And without him, we never would have all became friends!" 

"Yes. We haven't known each other for very long, but I can't imagine my life with the Phantom Thieves," Makoto replied.

Ann smiled at the girl. "When things finally calm down...well we'll have a lot to talk about, won't we?" 

"Right. But, first things first!" Makoto rose from her seat, clapping her hands together. "It's time to finish up."

With the cake finally finished baking, Makoto and Ann took to spreading the frosting on top. Ann had the idea to draw something with the pipe, but it wasn't going as planned.

"Ugh, I bet if Yusuke were here he could put something cool on the top of the cake," Ann groaned as she attempted to salvage the crudely decorated Morgana she had drawn with icing. Makoto shrugged. 

"I guess this is one of those moments where it's the thought that counts?" Makoto said, or rather, asked - she didn't seem to believe it herself. 

Ann pouted. "Well, whatever! It's good enough for Ryuji. Besides, it's almost 15:00 and I'm beat. We should call it a night."

"Agreed," Makoto replied, taking her apron off and hanging it up. "I have some sleeping bags! Let's push the couches out of the way and sleep in the living room." 

"Sounds good to me. I don't want to know what would have happened to me if Sae came home early and found me sleeping in her bed…"

The girls spread out their sleeping bags. It looked like they were camping indoors. Ann was reminded of the blanket forts she would build as a kid. She hadn't had a sleepover in ages. Now doing it almost felt nostalgic. As she snuggled into her bag like an extremely comfortable caterpillar, she felt the night's work begin to wash over her in a wave.

"Ann?" Makoto called out in the dark from her own sleeping bag. 

"Mmm?"

"You're the best."

Makoto only received Ann's light snores in response. She smiled at the ceiling above her, letting herself drift gently off to sleep as well.

* * *

"Woah! You made all this for me!?"

Ryuji was flabbergasted at the startling amount of pastries that were presented to him at Cafe Leblanc. Ann and Makoto had laid the full spread out in front of him. 

"Yep!" Ann said. "We put a lot of effort into these so you better enjoy them!" 

"We hope they're to your liking," Makoto added, giving a small bow. Ryuji grabbed a cookie. 

"They smell amazing…" he said, before taking a bite. "And they taste even better!" 

Ann crossed her arms, nodding in satisfaction. Perhaps Makoto was onto something about her need to see things through properly when they mattered most. 

"We know things have been kind of hectic lately, so we just wanted to make sure you knew we appreciated you," Makoto said. Ryuji had moved on to one of the freshly baked cupcakes next.

"I'm not entirely sure what you mean, but either way, thanks!" he said. Ann couldn't help but find his obliviousness endearing. It was what made Ryuji, Ryuji. 

"Hey, how long did these take?" 

"A whole night!" Ann said.

"Really? Did you do anything else?" 

Ann blushed a deep crimson, turning away from the boy. Makoto let out a laugh.

"No, we didn't! Shut up and eat your cake!" she replied, making a swift exit from the booth Ryuji was sitting in. The boy stared at Ann as she walked away. 

"Hey wait! What'd I say?"


End file.
